FIFA World Cup 2018 FAVORITES

The excitement of FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia continues into the Round of 16 with top 2 players of each group advances to the playoffs in different cities in Russia. The world's most popular sporting event is already running for two weeks already and will continue for another two weeks until which another new world champion is celebrated into the world stage. Not only bookmakers are placing their bets for which team they will want to win but also some psychic animals also participates in predicting the winners of the tournament's matches one of the popular psychic is Paul the Octopus which predicted Spain as the FIFA World Cup 2010 Champion and this year 2018 it is the deaf cat Achilles which is making waves in predicting the winners in the tournament's matches. Watchful Eyes Of A Silhouette has its own favorite in the tournament and here it is.



Favorite Teams

Argentina 
Brazil
Denmark
England
France
Portugal
Spain
Sweden


Favorite Forwards

Artem Dzyuba - Russia
Mohammad Al-Sahlawi - Saudi Arabia
Luis Suarez - Uruguay
Edinson Cavani - Uruguay
Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal
Andre Silva - Portugal 
David Silva - Spain
Jefferson Farfan - Peru
Edison Flores - Peru
Gonzalo Higuain - Argentina
Lionel Messi - Argentina
Sergio Aguero - Argentina
Mario Mandzukic - Croatia
Neymar - Brazil
Douglas Costa - Brazil
Mario Gomez - Germany
Marco Fabian - Mexico
Romelo Lukaku - Belgium
Harry Kane - England
Blas Perez - Panama
Luis Tejada - Panama
Luis Muriel - Colombia
Miguel Borja - Colombia
Shinji Okazaki - Japan
Mousa Sow - Senegal
Sadio Mane - Senegal


Favorite Midfielders

Mohammed Elneny - Egypt
Taisir Al-Jassim - Saudi Arabia
Cristian Rodriguez - Uruguay
Lucas Torreira - Uruguay
Joao Moutinho - Portugal
Sergio Busquets - Spain
Andres Iniesta - Spain
Koke - Spain
Thiago - Spain
William Kvist - Denmark
Christian Eriksen - Denmark
Paul Pogba - France
Blaise Matuidi - France
Ever Banega - Argentina
Angel Di Maria - Argentina
Luka Modric - Croatia
Ivan Rakitic - Croatia
John Obi Mikel - Nigeria
Casemiro - Brazil
Philippe Coutinho - Brazil
Paulinho - Brazil
Fernardinho - Brazil
Celso Borges - Costa Rica
Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica
Sami Khedira - Germany
Toni Kroos - Germany
Mesut Ozil - Germany
Thomas Muller - Germany
Andres Guardado - Mexico
Giovani dos Santos - Mexico
Sebastian Larsson - Sweden
Gabriel Gomez - Panama
Anibal Godoy - Panama
James Rodriguez - Colombia
Keisuke Honda - Japan
Shinji Kagawa - Japan



Favorite Defenders

Diego Godin - Uruguay
Pepe - Portugal
Bruno Alves - Portugal
Gerard Pique - Spain
Nacho - Spain
Sergio Ramos - Spain
Simon Kjær - Denmark
Andreas Christensen - Denmark
Mathias Jørgensen - Denmark
Christian Ramos - Peru
Javier Mascherano - Argentina
Nicolas Otamendi - Argentina
Kári Árnason - Iceland
Thiago Silva - Brazil
Miranda - Brazil
Filipe Luis - Brazil
Oscar Duarte - Costa Rica
Francisco Calvo - Costa Rica
Kendall Waston - Costa Rica
Mats Hummels - Germany
Jerome Boateng - Germany
Hugo Ayala - Mexico
Hector Herrera - Mexico
Edson Alvarez - Mexico
Kim Min-woo - South Korea
Kim Young-gwon - South Korea
Jang Hyun-soo - South Korea
Victor Lindelöf - Sweden
Martin Olsson - Sweden
Thomas Meunier - Belgium
Fidel Escobar - Panama
Roman Torres - Panama
Cristian Zapata - Colombia
Santiago Arias - Colombia
Yerry Mina - Colombia
Gen Shoji - Japan
Tomoaki Makino - Japan
Maya Yoshida - Japan



Favorite Goalkeepers

Essam El-Hadary - Egypt
Fernando Muslera - Uruguay
Rui Patricio - Portugal
Pepe Reina - Spain
Hugo Lloris - France
Pedro Gallese - Peru
Danijel Subašić- Croatia
Vladimir Stojković - Serbia
Manuel Neuer - Germany
Guillermo Ochoa - Mexico
Jaime Penedo - Panama
David Ospina - Colombia
Łukasz Fabiański - Poland



Favorite Coaches

Juan Antonio Pizzi (Spanish) - for  Saudi Arabia 
Oscar Tabarez (Uruguayan) - for Uruguay
Jorge Sampaoli (Argentinian) - for Argentina
Herve Renard (French) - for Morocco
Zlatco Dalic (Croatian) - for Croatia
Tite (Brazilian) - for Brazil
Oscar Ramirez (Costa Rican) - for Costa Rica
Vladimir Petkovic (Bosnian) - for Switzerland
Fernando Hierro (Spanish) - for Spain
Joachim Low (German) - for Germany
Juan Carlo Osorio (Colombian) - for Mexico
Jose Pekerman (Argentinian-Colombian) - for Colombia



Favorite Referees

Nestor Pitana - Argentina
Clement Turpin - France
Gianluca Rocchi - Italy
Bakary Gassama - Gambia
Cuneyt Cakir - Turkey
Malang Diedhiou - Senegal
Alireza Faghani - Iran
Wilmar Roldan - Colombia
Damir Skomina - Slovenia
Cesar Arturo Ramos - Mexico



Photo Source:

Wikipedia

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 BRAZIL FINALS: IT'S SUPER MARIO'S GAME FOR GERMANY

Germany's Mario Goetze celebrates after scoring a goal against Argentina

Philipp Lahm lifts the FIFA World Cup trophy in front of head coach Joachim Loew celebrating Germany's win 

Goal keeper Manuel Neuer lifts the trophy 

 

Bastian Schweinsteiger comforts every star player of a team they defeated 

Germany National Soccer Team Homecoming 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - It's really a Super Mario's Game in Brazil. Germany's got its fourth World Cup trophy Sunday courtesy of a late goal in 113th minute of Mario Goetze through a pass from Andre Schurrle and make its way in past goal keeper Sergio Romero witnessed by a multitude of roaring Argentinians and some Germans supporting their players in the crowded Estadio Maracaña in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Argentina's pride and one of the most popular player in soccer Lionel Messi could not work out his swift moves only making missed opportunities while trying to overcome the highly organized German booters playing on their tactics. The team were congratulated by German chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazil President Dilma Rousseff in which the latter hand over the next staging of FIFA World Cup in 2018 in Russia to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Germany also made history by being the first non-Latin American country to win in Latin American soil or the New World. All the previous FIFA World Cup stagings in Latin America or New World were all won by a Latin American country.

Most of Germany's FIFA World Cup wins happened in a year ending in 4 (1954, 1974, 2014) with the exception of 1990 in Italy. All the previous wins of Germany happened in Europe. CONGRATULATIONS GERMANY! Deutschland.


Photo Sources: 

Associated Press 
Getty Images 
Reuters

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 UPDATE: A DAY OF INFAMY FOR BRAZIL! SORRY LOSS TO GERMANY

Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari hides his face in shame after his team's humiliating defeat to Germany

one of Brazil's star player David Luiz cries playing a heart breaking loss to Germany 

THE VENGEANCE! In what can be called as the day of infamy and terror for Brazil, heart broken Brazilian fans watch in terror as their country losses to Germany in Estadio Mineirao in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte in Brazil. Germany finally defeats Brazil in a HUMILIATING 7-1 in what many called a rematch of the FIFA World Cup 2002 Finals in Japan. What a terrible punishment! I can't imagine the heart broken Brazilians faces as they watch in horror their country's defeat in their home turf. In 30 minutes alone 15 minutes short of a halftime, Germany already exploded 5 goals thanks to Thomas Mueller, Miroslav Klose, Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira that caused a massive walkout of Brazilian Fans in Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte and another two goals were made by German booter Andre Schuerrle in the second half of the game to secure their finals appearance. The lone goal by Brazil was in the last minute of the game courtesy of Oscar. Brazil had hope to redeem themselves to win the World Cup trophy as host from their humiliating lost to Uruguay in the finals of FIFA World Cup 1950 when Brazil first hosted the competition. Germany is just waiting for the winner in the match of Argentina vs. Netherlands while Brazil will just settle for a 3rd or 4th place. 



Photo Sources: 

Mario Tama, Getty Images 
Eddie Keogh, Reuters 
Ruben Sprich, Reuters 
Chris Brunskill Ltd, Getty Images 
Bruno Magalhaes, AP

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 BRAZIL UPDATE: TOP 4 Semifinalist Teams Revealed

With Argentina's lone goal courtesy of forward Gonzalo Higuain at 8 minutes of the match against Belgium and Netherland's barely won over Costa Rica in a penalty shout out, the top 4 teams playing for next week's semifinals are ready to make history or repeat the triumph they once had. Brazil will face Germany on Tuesday a match that will remind us of the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan while the 2010 World Cup runner up Netherlands will see a tough game against two time World Cup champion Argentina the following day Wednesday. Brazil will play next week without their star player Neymar who suffered a sustained injury on his vertebrate and their team captain Thiago Silva who was issued a yellow card penalty. The Top Four (4) semifinalist teams were Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Netherlands. We hope that in the future Philippines can finally play in FIFA World Cup and even host it.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 SPOTLIGHT: Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, Philippines BRAZIL OF THE PHILIPPINES

Barotac Nuevo is dubbed as the Football Capital of the Philippines because it is where the homegrown talents of unlimited potentials came from and since Iloilo is a soccer football province. National players who made a name and made countless of goals locally and internationally came from Barotac Nuevo as well as some of the finest coaches hired by other countries came from this small town in northeastern Iloilo, a west central province in the Philippines. Barotac Nuevo is touted as the Brazil of the Philippines followed by Santa Barbara town and La Paz district in Iloilo City.

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 UPDATE: Top 8 Quarter Finalists Team Revealed

 

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 Teams On The Knockout Stage and Pairings For The Finals

 Brazil National Football Team 

 

Germany National Football Team 

 

Netherlands National Football Team 

With last night's remaining match in the knockout stage July 1, the Top 8 quarter finalists were revealed. Argentina and Belgium, which won its respective matches against Switzerland and United States, completed the teams which advance for the quarterfinals. Argentina won by only a lone goal made by Argentinian midfielder Angel di Maria at the last extra minutes of the games sending home the Swiss team while Belgium dispatches its strong players to hit 2 goals in the extra minutes of the game after the full 90 minutes in the 93rd and 105th minutes courtesy of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku respectively to earn the final ticket to the quarterfinals and ending the popular campaign of the United States in the World Cup but thanks to the lone goal courtesy of American midfielder Julian Green in the 107th minutes of the games as a consolation to the United States team. Argentina will face Belgium in the quarterfinals match on July 5. The quarterfinals will start on Friday, July 4 with former World Cup champions France and Germany will battle it out for a semifinal slot in the first match while the host country Brazil will take on the dedicated Colombia in the second match. The other two teams which will fight for the semifinals are Costa  Rica and Netherlands which will face each other on the second match on July 5. Good luck to all the teams!

FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil Update: Group Matches

Belgium vs. Russia match

Incredible performance from the United States yesterday June 22 in a match against Portugal giving a fierce battle that ends up in a 2-2 draw but the latter is in the bottom of group G in which they should win against Ghana on Thursday, June 26 because otherwise than that and if Germany will win in its match against United States on the same day they will be eliminated early from World Cup. On the other hand, Belgium beats Russia 1-0 to lead group H with 2 wins without any losses and Algeria defeat South Korea 4-2. Belgium will face South Korea on Thursday while Algeria faces Russia on the same date. Tough performances will follow as the Top 16 teams will be revealed. 

Iloilo City, Philippines

FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 UPDATE: Adios España! La Furia Roja Spain Booted Out Of FIFA World Cup 2014

Sergio Busquets of Spain reacts after a missed chance during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group B match between Spain and Chile at Maracana on June 18, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

ADIOS España! FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 CHAMPION Spain booted out of FIFA World Cup 2014 Wednesday, June 18 by Chile 2-0. Chile advances to the next stage next week in Group B group stage elimination to arrange showdown against Netherlands which in turn defeat its own opponent Australia awhile ago 3-2. The Oranjes and Chile jointly lead Group B. Meanwhile Croatia easily defeat Cameroon 4-0 to eliminate the latter in Group A elimination round and say their goodbye to World Cup 2014. Croatia will face Mexico next week. 

La Furia Roja  coach Vicente del Bosque can't do anything against the intensity of the game as they bow down to Chile. Casillas, Iñiesta, Ramos and Castro can only weep as they watch the Chileans romp their way to victory. ‪#‎fifa2014‬ ‪#‎worldcup2014‬ ‪#‎worldcup‬ ‪#‎fifa‬ ‪#‎fifaworldcup2014‬ ‪#‎fifaworldcup2014brazil‬ ‪#‎worldcup2014brazil‬

FIFA World Cup 2014 Heats Up in Brazil

The world's biggest sporting event just next to Summer Olympic games and the world's most popular sport has drummed up in different cities of Brazil starting June 12 with the first match between the host country Brazil against Croatia with the former winning the game. Mexico, Netherlands, Chile, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, Italy, Switzerland, France, Argentina, Germany and United States have so far win their first game against their equally strong opponents in their respective groups. Twelve stadiums (seven new and five renovated) in different cities across Brazil will be the playing venue of thirty-two (32) participating countries. The finals will be on July 13 in Rio de Janeiro. Spain is the current FIFA World Cup Champion 2010 in South Africa.


Photo Sources:

community.futureshop.ca
www.bushwickdaily.com
www.sjearthquakes.com
www.zimbio.com

Filipino Achievers 2010

           There are lots of stories from the past year in which we can reflect, inspire and learn from and move into the future. Some of the stories are compelling and some are disappointing, some are annoying but some made us very proud.

         Filipinos every year make some noise and stories that really make the year noisy and boisterously happy. Their stories of struggle, unwavering determination and indomitable spirit brightened the days of the country and make the Philippines beautiful where it is smeared with controversy, tragedy, strife and crimes. They will always be the epitome of triumph and inspiration and will always be imprinted in our minds that once these achievers made us who we really are. These are just a few of the Filipino achievers in the past year.

J.R. Celski

The Speeding Olympian in Vancouver

In the world of winter sports where the white and a few Asian skaters reign supreme, a Filipino-American in the name of J.R. Celski break the barriers of frigid zone and went on to win the bronze medal in the men’s 1500 m short track speed skating during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada in February, 2010. He later joined his US men speedskating team in the men’s 1500m relay short track speed skating to win the bronze medal.

Dennis Sabangan

FIFA World Cup 2010 In The Eyes Of A Lensman

Watching the world’s most popular sport being watched by millions in live audience and billions of others in their television is one thing. Capturing images, stealing snapshots and candid scenes for news and documentary of the history making event is another. Being held in the African continent for the first time in history of the World Cup, the world hooked up on the emerging South Africa on its transformation and handling the event showcasing their potentials and vast talents and also the best of Africa has to offer. Documenting as part of history and news that matter by way of pictures is a privilege given only to a select few lucky ones and one of them is Dennis Sabangan. He is given the chance to cover the now world’s biggest sporting spectacle defeating the Summer Olympic Games, due to his previous works, accomplishments and credentials. FIFA World Cup in July 12 is highlighted on the finals when La Furia Roja (The Red Fury) Spain won the World for the first time since it first participated in the very first World Cup in 1930 beating the three time World Cup runner up The Netherlands. The sport is covered by a photographer from a country who doesn’t enjoy soccer but basketball and boxing yet Dennis Sabangan deliver the goods.

Tim Lincecum

The Pitcher Who Strikes Gold

In U.S. baseball, only the Japanese professional players made it big in the World Series making names and hauling a lot of wealth. A Filipino named Tim Lincecum broke the monotony and pitched for the San Francisco Giants to be the mighty winner of the World Series. The honor he brought became the first ever win by San Francisco in the history of the game and he is also the first second-year player to win the 2008 and 2009 National League Cy Young Awards. His clever, unorthodox and unconventional method of pitching and success in baseball earned him the title “The Freak” and “The Franchise”.

Maria Venus Bayonito Raj

The Rice Paddy Beauty Queen

Skinny, corpse like and witch like lass living in the middle of the rice fields as the tease and taunts she heard from her school mates, who will ever notice a lady this ugly. His mother is the exception who keeps inspiring, encouraging and lifting her low spirit and telling her to prove them wrong and that molds the mind set of the young Venus Raj. Her mother’s soft and gentle words became her motivation to persevere for her dream to become a beauty queen someday watching as the most beautiful woman crowned as Miss Universe and wondering how she can join it. Walking through the rice paddies became her training ground and perfected her catwalk skills and joining several beauty pageants in school and in their community harness her craftsmanship in the art of beauty pageants. She joins Miss Philippines Earth and ended up a runner up and two years later joined the Binibining Pilipinas national pageant in which she was crowned as the winner and automatically gave her the honor of representing the country in the upcoming Miss Universe 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 23. Her courage, perseverance and unwavering faith cannot deter her to fulfill her dreams of competing at Miss Universe beauty pageant as the scandal surrounding her birthplace took place days later, a desperate move by some envious of her title so that someone could take her place because she is just poor as some elitist wanted  a lady coming from a prominent rich family to represent the country in Miss Universe. She ended up 4th runner up to Miss Mexico Jimena Navarette in a splendid ceremony held at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada on August 23, 2010. Ever since making history that will put her as a classic exemplary woman, she has become a youtube sensation, drawing crowds swarming like bees and having lots of videos pertaining to or related about her. Graduating with honors in college despite of poverty, struggling through life with her family despite her longing for her father, her unwavering faith, confidence and courage braving against all odds just to fulfill her lifelong dream of competing at Miss Universe is truly endearing, awe inspiring, more compelling and truly an epitome of a woman’s substance and earned her a legion of fans around the world before, during and after Miss Universe.

Nicole Scherzinger

The Popular Dance Group Sensation Swaying In The Reality Show Competition

Who doesn’t know the popular lead singer of the sexy girl group Pussycat Dolls? Her exotic gorgeous looks along with her equally stunning members compliments their sexy chilling voice prove to be effective capturing the hearts of teens and younger adults all over the world with their catchy tunes and soft boneless body move who slithers like a snake. Capping her lifetime career as a dancer, she was invited to compete for the Fox Channel’s Dancing With The Stars, a reality dance show competition of celebrities, partnering with the professional dancer Derek Hough. She proves her superior skill, perfected her craft and easily made her into the finals topped by her favoritism over her opponents making her that season grand winner. Her expertise, precision, impeccable dance routines and flair in dancing is too inevitable not to be noticed.

Spain's FIFA World Cup 2010 Players

       I was awed by the ups and downs of the Spanish team during last month's FIFA World Cup 2010 competing against the best in the world. Until now, it does not sink in to me that they really are the winners of FIFA World Cup 2010 held in South Africa. With  Euro Championship 2008 to boost their performance, who could've believe they will be overwhelmed by their performance in the past that they forgot the essentials of the game until they were beaten once and their world went upside down. From that, they learned their lessons well and tune up their mind and body for the game and prepare themselves for anything that might happen in an unpredictable sports.Just in time when their head coach Vicente del Bosque do wonders, calibrate and set up an exemplary performance of the team in its shining glory this year at FIFA World Cup 2010. The adage' "Don't rest on your laurels is true it might led to your downfall but rather play your game well. I wonder how and what they (Spain's 2010 FIFA World Cup players) become after the games. I am interested to know about them well and if lucky, meet them personally. 

Paul the Oracle Octopus Got It Right for World Cup Title

Berlin (AP) – There’s been plenty of ink for Paul the octopus lately, and why not?



The octopus, also known as the “Oracle of Oberhausen,” has successfully predicted the winner of eight World Cup matches including the FIFA World Cup 2010 winner Spain that concludes today in a game against Netherlands, 1-0.


Paul had predicted correctly the winner of today’s final match. And rather than go out on a limb – or maybe eight of them – the critter is sticking with the favorite, picking Spain over The Netherlands.


Handlers of the 2 ½ year- old floppy octopus – a resident of the Oberhausen Sea Life aquarium – usually have him make predictions only for games in which Germany plays. But because of Paul’s recent worldwide fame and demand for his pick for the final, they made an exception.


Here’s how the seer sucker makes his prognostications: Officials put a mussel inside each of two clear plastic boxes bearing the national flags of the teams in his tank. Paul then makes his choice by opening the lid with his tentacles and devouring one of the treats.


Millions across Europe, in Taiwan and elsewhere watched a live TV broadcast Friday of his choice of Spain, complete with breathless commentary. He also predicted Germany over Uruguay in Saturday’s third-place game.


Facebook fans


Paul has gotten business proposals, has thousands of Facebook fans and even has the attention of world leaders.


Animal rights group Peta wants him freed. Many Germans – upset that he correctly picked Spain over Germany in Wednesday’s semifinal – want him fried.


“Paul is such a professional oracle – he doesn’t even care that hundreds of journalists are watching and commenting on every move he makes,” said Stefan Porwoll, the Sea Life aquarium manager. “We’re so proud of him.”


After his prediction of his home country’s loss came true, German TV showed footage of a grilled octopus. That prompted Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to fret about the safety of “El Pulpo Paul,” as he’s known in Spain.


Security for Paul


“I am concerned about the octopus,” Zapatero said. “I’m thinking about sending in a team to protect the octopus because obviously it was very spectacular that he should get Spain’s victory right from there.”


In response to hundreds of angry e-mails from Germans, the aquarium actually took extra precautions, Porwoll said.


“I even told our guards and people at the entrance to keep a close look at possible football fans coming after Paul for revenge,” he said, adding that the hate mail was outweighed by declarations of love and requests for predictions.


Peta says Paul’s tank is too small. But Porwoll said the creature was born in captivity and has never had to deal with any natural enemies, so dumping Paul into the Atlantic would likely mean death. He could live up to four years in captivity, Porwoll added.


In the meantime, he might have a future beyond World Cup. A reporter from Greece asked if the mollusk medium could foresee the end of the financial crisis, and German TV stations have offered lucrative contracts, Porwoll said.


After Arab news sites reported Paul’s picks, it was suggested he be sent to Iraq to choose between two bitter rivals – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his main challenger, Ayad Allawi – vying to head the new government.




Paul Effect


Gary Jenkins, an economis with London’s Evolution Securities, hedged his market analysis note Friday with the phrase, “unless Paul says differently.”


British punters who had backed The Netherlands to beat Spain in Sunday’s final are switching sides after Paul predicted a Spanish win, bookmakers said Friday.


“The Paul Effect” has turned the betting on its head with more punters backing Spain since the famous octopus gave his verdict,” said a spokesperson for Paddy Power bookies.


Before Paul’s prediction, Paddy Power said it had seen 54 percent of the bets laid placed on the Dutch to win. But since then, 56 percent have gone on Spain.


“Whilst the shrewdies and big money punters are firmly backing Spain, Holland had been the more popular bet among the casual punters in terms of number of bets placed, said a spokesperson.


“But since Paul’s prediction on a Spain win, we’ve taken more bets on the Spanish for the first time since the final lineup was known.”


Paul’s effect is not as strong at rival bookmakers’ William Hill, who said people are suspicious of placing hard cash on the musings of an octopus.


“We have not changed our prices. We’ve had a few quick rushes on Spain after Paul’s prediction, but I think our bettors make their own decision rather than following the octopus,” a spokesperson said.


Buoyant Clairvoyant


Graham Sharpe, the spokesperson for William Hill, said bettors have been asking the staff about the picks by the buoyant clairvoyant.


“If you had just bet 10 pounds ($15) on each of Paul’s six successive winning selections… so far, you would have made a healthy profit of 84 pounds ($126) – but if you had put the winnings from each bet all onto the next one, you would now be looking at 1,400 pounds ($2,108) of profit,” Sharpe said.


Paul is not without competition. There’s also Mani, a parakeet in Singapore, who predicted the Dutch would win Sunday by creeping out of his wooden cage and choosing between two cards that bore the two nations’ flags.


In South Africa, Spanish team defender Carlos Marchena isn’t putting too much stock in Paul’s pick.


“It’s only an octopus,” he said.




Reports from AP, AFP

YES AND SPAIN WINS WORLD CUP

The Red wins the 19th FIFA World Cup first time for the Iberian peninsula and the third loss of the runner up Netherlands. Maybe its not yet time for the Orange team to win it but they may have another time and dont take chances and do all you can to win.. Sorry to see Wesley Sneijder weeping and spitting as their team losing the game to Spain but thanks to the only score of the Spanish armada, the bald-headed Andres Iniesta, to the strong goal keeper Iker Casillas and most especially to Carles Puyol of making Spain's first entrance into the finals. Congratulations Spain and pour over the Champagne!

FIFA World Cup 2010 last Hurrah!

Germany won against Uruguay for a third place finish at the near conclusion of FIFA World Cup 2010 and the finals will be set later between Netherlands and Spain. The best of luck

The Breath Taking Spain versus Germany Semifinals Match

The exciting match between Netherlands and Uruguay could not sustain the adrenaline rush and nerve wracking exciting kicking balls between old time rivals Germany and Spain with the latter winning the semis advancing to the finals against Netherlands, a prominent European team and a finalist in FIFA World Cup in previous editions. The two already met formerly at European Championships 2008 in Austria and Switzerland with Spain taking the title. The intense rivalry continued at this year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa with Germany seeking their 4th trophy while Spain is seriously playing to win their first title of this calibre. Thanks for a foul made by Germany's midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, that allowed a corner kick and passed on to Spain's Carles Puyol to head kick for a sole goal of Spain in the game that made continue their journey for the title.And thanks to the clairvoyant cute slimy and slender tentacles of Paul the Octopus who sides with Spain but angers Germans. Goodluck to both Spain for the finals on Sunday and Germany for a 3rd place match later today against Uruguay!

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa Heating Up

      World Cup 2010 is making a global heatwaves in South Africa with 32 teams from all over the world competing for the coveted World Cup ball trophy with millions of fans are coming over on in nine stadiums in the cities of Johannesburg, Durban, Capetown, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Nelspruit to watch the games live and billions of other fans around the world are tuning on their television. But not everything about FIFA World Cup 2010 is frenzy and craziness but of course with controversy from the annoying and disturbing vuvuzela horns, the unpredictable Adidas Jabulani ball to unfair and bias referees. But of course, everyone must deal with that and that doesn't even make a major impact to disrupt the games and get in the way of people's partying in the world's most popular sports. Surprise and real shocker came however from the games itself with lots of disappointment and unbelievable wins. Host South Africa opened the games with a draw against its opponent Mexico, former World Cup champions Uruguay and France settled in for a draw with a goal less game, Mexico upsets France, the underdog USA which stuns Spain in last year's tune up game came to reprise its conquering the World Cup by giving England a headache to settle for a draw and threat those who undermine the team, Ghana win over Serbia, but most of all is Portugal winning of 7 goals to a scoreless DPR (North) Korea team. See more of the action as the games unfold and as we draw closer to the finals on July 11.

FIFA World Cup Trivia

Performances by host nations
See also: National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup#Results of host nations
Six of the seven champions have won one of their titles while playing in their own homeland, the exception being Brazil, who finished as runners-up after losing the deciding match on home soil in 1950.

England (1966) and France (1998) won their only titles while playing as host nations. Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934) and Argentina (1978) won their first titles as host nations but have gone on to win again, while Germany (1974) won their second title on home soil.

Other nations have also been successful when hosting the tournament. Sweden (runners-up in 1958), Chile (third place in 1962), Korea Republic (fourth place in 2002), Mexico (quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986), and Japan (second round in 2002) all have their best results when serving as hosts. So far, all host nations have progressed beyond the first round.


Best performances by continental zones
See also: National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup#Results by confederation
To date, the final of the World Cup has only been contested by European and South American teams. The two continents have won nine titles apiece. Only two teams from outside these two continents have ever reached the semi-finals of the competition: USA (North, Central America and Caribbean) in 1930 and Korea Republic (Asia) in 2002. The best result of an African team is reaching the quarter-finals: Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. Oceania has only been represented in the World Cup three times, and an Oceanian qualifier has reached the second round once, as Australia qualified as an Oceanian nation in 2005, although they moved to the Asian Football Confederation before the beginning of the tournament.

All World Cups won by European teams have taken place in Europe and the only teams to have won outside Europe come from South America. The only non-European team to win a tournament in Europe is Brazil in 1958. Only twice have consecutive World Cups been won by teams from the same continent – when Italy and Brazil successfully defended their titles in 1938 and 1962 respectively.


Awards
Main article: FIFA World Cup awards
At the end of each World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament. There are currently six awards:

The Golden Shoe (sometimes called the Golden Boot) for the top goalscorer (first awarded in 1982, but retrospectively applied to all tournaments from 1930); most recently, the Silver Shoe and the Bronze Shoe have been awarded to the second and third top goalscorers respectively;
The Golden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members (first awarded in 1982); the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball are awarded to the players finishing second and third in the voting respectively;
The Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group (first awarded in 1994);
The FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best record of fair play, according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee (first awarded in 1978);
The Most Entertaining Team for the team that has entertained the public the most during the World Cup, determined by a poll of the general public (first awarded in 1994);
The Best Young Player Award for the best player aged 21 or younger at the start of the calendar year, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group (first awarded in 2006).
An All-Star Team consisting of the best players of the tournament is also announced for each tournament since 1998.


Records and statistics

Main article: FIFA World Cup records
Two players share the record for playing in the most World Cups; Mexico's Antonio Carbajal and Germany's Lothar Matthäus both played in five tournaments. Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 25 appearances. Brazil's Pelé is the only player to hold three World Cup winners' medals.

The overall leading goalscorer in World Cups is Brazil's Ronaldo, scorer of 15 goals in three tournaments. West Germany's Gerd Müller is second, with 14 goals in two tournaments. The third placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup. All his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.

Brazil's Mário Zagallo and West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer are the only people to date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach. Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach. Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups. All World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory.


Source: Wikipedia

FIFA World Cup History

FIFA World Cup first stadium for playing in Montevideo, Uruguay, 1930; map of countries best performance in FIFA world cup; the FIFA World Cup trophy


Source: Wikipedia

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, because of World War II.
The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month – this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s). The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 final.
Of the 18 tournaments held, seven nations have won the title. Brazil are the only team that have played in every tournament and have won the World Cup a record five times. Italy are the current champions and have won four titles, and Germany are next with three. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina, with two titles each, and England and France, with one title each.
The most recent World Cup was held in Germany in 2006. The next World Cup will be held in South Africa, between 11 June and 11 July 2010, and the 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil.

History
Previous international competitions
The world's first international football match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, with the first international tournament, the inaugural edition of the British Home Championship, taking place in 1884. At this stage the sport was rarely played outside the United Kingdom. As football began to increase in popularity in other parts of the world at the turn of the century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics (however, the IOC has retroactively upgraded their status to official events), and at the 1906 Intercalated Games.
After FIFA was founded in 1904, there was an attempt made by FIFA to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside of the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition. Planned by The Football Association (FA), England's football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team) won the gold medals. They repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm, where the tournament was organized by the Swedish Football Association.
With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between amateur teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organized the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between individual clubs (not national teams) from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. The competition is sometimes described as The First World Cup, and featured the most prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the offer to send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland, an amateur side from County Durham, to represent England instead. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, and were given the trophy to keep forever, as per the rules of the competition.
In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a "world football championship for amateurs", and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the world's first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and thirteen European teams, and won by Belgium. Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928.

First World Cup
Due to the success of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, with President Jules Rimet the driving force, again started looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a world championship organised by FIFA. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions (as 1924 was the start of FIFA's professional era) and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host country of the inaugural World Cup tournament.
The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and costly trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. Indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip. In total thirteen nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America.
The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on 18 July 1930, and were won by France and USA, who beat Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France. In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and became the first nation to win the World Cup.

Growth

After the creation of the World Cup, the 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not plan to include football as part of the schedule due to the low popularity of the sport in the United States, as American football had been growing in popularity. FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was dropped from the Games. Olympic football returned at the 1936 Summer Olympics, but was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup.
The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments were the difficulties of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams were willing to travel to Europe for the 1934 and 1938 tournaments, with Brazil the only South American team to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions were cancelled due to World War II and its aftermath.
The 1950 World Cup, held in Brazil, was the first to include British participants. British teams withdrew from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football, but rejoined in 1946 following FIFA's invitation. The tournament also saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted the previous two World Cups. Uruguay won the tournament again by defeating the host nation Brazil in one of the most famous matches in World Cup history, which was later called the "Maracanazo" (Portuguese: Maracanaço).
In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed in each tournament, except in 1938, when Austria were absorbed into Germany after qualifying, leaving the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India, Scotland and Turkey withdrew, leaving the tournament with 13 teams. Most of the participating nations were from Europe and South America, with a small minority from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were: USA, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in 1938; Korea DPR, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970.
The tournament was expanded to 24 teams in 1982, and then to 32 in 1998, allowing more teams from Africa, Asia and North America to take part. The one exception is Oceania, who have never had a guaranteed spot in the tournament. In recent years, teams from these regions have enjoyed more success, and those who have reached the quarter-finals include: Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1986; Cameroon, quarter-finalists in 1990; Korea Republic, finishing in fourth place in 2002; and Senegal and USA, both quarter-finalists in 2002. However, European and South American teams have remained the stronger forces. For example, the quarter-finalists in 2006 were all from Europe or South America.
198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and a record 204 will attempt to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Other FIFA tournaments

An equivalent tournament for women's football, the FIFA Women's World Cup, was first held in 1991 in the People's Republic of China. The women's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men's, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991.
Football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports, the men's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three over-age players. Women's football made its Olympic debut in 1996, and is contested between full national sides with no age restrictions.
The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation(s) as a dress-rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country.
FIFA also organizes international tournaments for youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup), club football (FIFA Club World Cup), and football variants such as futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup) and beach soccer (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup).


Trophy
From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winner. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983, and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves.
After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven different countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: "The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory."
This new trophy is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy until the next tournament and are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original.

Selection of Hosts
Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location gave rise to controversies, a consequence of the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centres of strength in football. The decision to hold the first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing. The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup, in France was controversial, as the American countries had been led to understand that the World Cup would rotate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament.
Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, to avoid future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the only tournament with multiple hosts. In 2010, South Africa will become the first African nation to host the World Cup. The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since 1978, and will be the first occasion where consecutive World Cups are held outside Europe.
FIFA receives eleven bids for 2018 and 2022 World Cups
The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Executive Committee. This is done under a single transferable vote system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a "Hosting Agreement" from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives a form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament. However, there have been occasions where the hosts of multiple future tournaments were announced at the same time, as will be the case for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament is rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host the tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament. However, the policy of continental rotation will not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018. This is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder.

Media coverage
See also: List of FIFA World Cup broadcasters
The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. The cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 World Cup is estimated to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of this tournament (a ninth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.
Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot.


Source: Wikipedia